The Draft
The Draft is where most of McFadden's troubles began. If an overall theme had to be applied to Zaza's 2009-2010 draft, it would have to be 'it seemed like a good idea at the time'. Selecting 4th overall as determined by the lottery, the Dancers chose Pavel Datsyuk in the first round as their leader and superstar. In the second round, caving to the pressure put on by Kansas City's acquisitions of two of the top goaltenders available, saw Zaza select Mikka Kiprusoff.
It was not until the fourth round that things got ugly for Zaza, as McFadden selected Andrei Markov, an expensive defenseman. Unfortunately, that was a trend that became prominent throughout McFadden's entire draft, as he also selected Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Pavel Kubina, assembling one of the most expensive defense cores in the league at the time. This handcuffed McFadden when it came to forwards and his remaining goaltender, as he was forced to resort to names such as Jason Williams, Sergei Samsonov, Jordan Staal, and Jonas Gustavsson in hopes that they would have unusually high scoring years. This, obviously, did not pan out.
Early On
The start of the season was not good for the Zaza Dancers. The Dancers saw their big name star, Pavel Datsyuk, come out of the gates slowly, posting low point totals in his first games of the season; to make things worse, he would later suffer an upper body injury and miss two games completely. Mikka Kipprusoff's performance in goal was lackluster, and Jonas Gustavsson was no better as he battled health issues involving his heart. Jason Williams and Andrei Markov would go down with long-term injuries, that would be the final nails in the coffin for Zaza's first place aspirations.
The Depression
During the first week of November, when things were looking bleak for the Dancers, Alan McFadden fell into a deep depression. Fueled by his lack of success as a general manager and his addiction to phone hotlines printed on chocolate bar wrappers, this depression would lead to the complete destruction of a team that seemed like it could not get much worse.
Within the three first days of November, McFadden had become completely passive with regards to his management duties, and had traded away Marc Savard, Jordan Staal, Ryan Kesler, Dustin Brown, Marc Staal, and Miikka Kiprusoff, as well as two free agent picks that would ultimately be used to select Maxim Afinogenov and Ilya Bryzgalov. In the end, Zaza was left with no standout superstars, and was loaded with overprice defensemen, and Chris Osgood in goal. The franchise had hit rock bottom in their on ice failure, as well as their finances.
The Deal
With the team on the brink of bankruptcy, McFadden had only one option: he had to deal with Carl Newton, general manager of the Kansas City Archangels. At the time, the Archangels were in the mix to take first place in the league, with the Missanabie Bears being their only obstacle. Though many had warned McFadden that dealing with Newton was the equivalent of dealing with the devil, the Dancers general manager had little choice.
An agreement was quickly struck between the two general managers. Newton promised that he would concoct a rebuilding plan for the ages for use by the Dancers, while also arranging one-sided trades that would benefit both Alan and himself. In return, McFadden would have to give up what Newton collected as an enthusiast: a soul. Unfortunately for Newton, he had to settle for the soul of Chris Osgood. Although he had to give up a lot, McFadden had the means to rebuild his teams. Chris Osgood's career would take a massive dive shortly afterward.
The Rebuild
The rebuild began instantaneously. On December 9th, Newton would pull the strings on a trade for Zaza's benefit, allowing McFadden to send two of his overpriced defensemen and three additional underachievers to Bergeron in exchange for reduced salaries, as well as two free agent picks. The two picks would ultimately be used to sign Evgeni Malkin and Brad Richards, superstars of quality Zaza had never seen before. The trade would become known as the Missanabie Massacre; Missanabie's success would quickly dwindle as a result of such trades, leaving first place open for an epic clash between Kansas City and Hanmer. In addition to the players acquired in the Missanabie Massacre, Zaza would gain more players following the rebuild plan, including Marian Hossa, Chris Stewart, and Kyle Okposo.
Ilya Kovalchuk
Fairly confident that he would not gain a player of better value in the 2010-2011 FGHL Draft, McFadden looked to Kansas City's Ilya Kovalchuk. Though risky, as Kovalchuk was due for a large raise, McFadden pulled a trigger on a trade with Newton, sending his first overall draft pick to Kansas City in exchange for Kovalchuk, two mid-level producers, and Kansas City's 2011 2nd round draft pick.
The Future
The story of the 2009-2010 Zaza Dancers was one of death and rebirth. McFadden singlehandedly took his team to the bottom, and has seemingly brought it back to the top. A team that began with only one superstar in Pavel Datsyuk, riddled with injuries, became an all-star team consisting of the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Brad Richards, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Marian Hossa, all healthy and ready to play. McFadden is quietly biding his time now, waiting for the 2010-2011 season to open, so he can shock the world.
Final Standings (2009-2010 Season):
| Team | Points |
| Kansas City Archangels | 1148 |
| Hanmer Velocity | 1144 |
| Hamilton Tigers | 1108 |
| Missanabie Bears | 1089 |
| Springfield Hell's Satans | 992 |
| Zaza Dancers | 798 |
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